Guided by the same elderly butler who had brought us to the room, we walked through the mansion.

"Oh……you are……"

On our way back, our party b.u.mped into a slender man.

"Welcome back, Cordis-sama. This person here is the head's guest, Romel Jib Armelisama and his attendants…….Romel-sama, this is Kurtis-sama's eldest son, Cordis-sama."

"Romel Jib Armelia……? Are you that famous Prime Minister of Tasmeria Kingdom?"

"It is nice to meet you for the first time, Cordis-dono. I am Romel Jib Armelia…….famous, is it? I have also heard of you, you know? It is said that Cordis-dono is quite knowledgeable about medicinal plants."

Hearing my retort, Cordis laughed.

"As expected, Romel-dono……do you have some time?"

"Yes, of course."

"Then, please come this way."

Following Cordis' lead, we went in a different direction from the parlour where we had met with Kurtis.

On the way, we pa.s.sed through a room with portraits of people who appeared to be the successive generations of heads lined up. 

Alf gazed at those paintings that were adorned with extravagant frames with a keen interest.

While pretending as though nothing particularly special was occurring, in actuality, I was working my brain harder than usual to try and remember all of the peculiarities of the paintings.

For him who was always storing the information obtained by his eyes and ears as [Information that may become vital], it was only natural that he could not simply ignore the things that could only be seen right here and now.

Once we had pa.s.sed through the room, we arrived at a place that appeared to be the courtyard.

Rather than appearing as though it had been carefully attended to by a gardener to make it enjoyable for the people viewing the garden, it gave off the image that only the things that have become necessary to grow were allowed to do so in a chaotic manner.

"While it may not look very visually appealing to guests……this is my vaunted garden."

"Hou……so Cordis-dono is taking care of it yourself? That is amazing."

I carefully gazed at the garden.

Suddenly, my eyes stopped at a single point.

……while what was blooming before my eyes was a beautiful flower, it was also a deadly poisonous plant capable of killing a human in an instant.

When I looked even more closely, surrounding it were plants that greatly resembled gra.s.ses generally used as foods, as well as those that were not particularly well-known. Without sufficient knowledge, they'd simply appear to be regular medicinal plants, but many of the plants growing there were actually frighteningly poisonous plants.

"You truly do love them. Medicinal plants…….I can tell that you've grown them with great care…….however, why have you shown these to me?"

Removing my gaze from the medicinal garden, I turned my eyes toward Cordis.

"No, I just wanted to boast about it. Since my family won't look at them……eventually, I would like to teach my family about how wonderful it is."

"……is that about this medicinal garden? Or is it about you, yourself?"

"That's……let's just say, both."

Cordis made a light smile.

For a brief moment, that smile made a chill go down my back.

"Is that so……my, my. However, why would you tell someone like me about such an ambition?"

"Who knows……I wonder why? Would it be wrong to say because it seemed interesting? As expected, speaking with someone whose mind moves fast makes my heart dance."

Relaxedly, Cordis unfolded the conversation with a gentle tone of voice.

If I evaluated him just based on how he looked, then he certainly did have a quiet temperament like how Alf's subordinate reported.

However, the things he spoke of and the air that surrounded him negated that impression.

It declared that he was not just a beautiful and gentle man.

"Interesting, is it? I will take that as you being far more bold compared to Kurtis-dono. I will earnestly pray that the usefulness of these as medicinal plants will be recognized…….on that note, Cordis-dono. My next appointment will be happening imminently, so I will have to excuse myself here."

"Yes, my apologies for detaining you here. I will be awaiting our next meeting……please guide Romel-dono and his people properly."

We separated from Cordis and once again headed towards the entrance under the guidance of the elderly butler.

"……nn? Oi, those guys are……"

Similar to earlier, we once again met a man near the entrance.

His physique was more solid compared to Cordis', and a sword was hanging by his hip.

"This is the head's guest, Romel Jib Armelidono. Romel-sama, this here is the head's second son, Miles Sligar."

"Armelia……I have not heard of such a family name before, but?"

For a moment, the elderly butler's face frowned.

His own master's son had said – "I don't know of your family name" – words that would directly insult someone, right in front of the person in question, and a guest, like myself.

Not only that, but those words were said towards someone who worked in the position of Prime Minister of the neighbouring country, clearly exposing Miles' own lack of study.

If he weren't right in front of me, this normally calm, elderly butler likely would've been holding his head in his hands.

"That is……"

"Whatever, it's fine. In any case, even if you tell me about it, I definitely won't be able to remember something that doesn't arouse my interest. Guest, I shall excuse myself with this."

Miles interrupted the elderly butler's words and swiftly left the area.

"My deepest apologies, Romel-sama."

Having understood the deep discourteousness of Miles' att.i.tude, the elderly butler apologized to Romel.

"No, I don't particularly mind…….thanks for guiding us."

I truly didn't mind…….rather, thinking about how I was able to observe that he was as big-headed as his reputation suggested, I almost wanted to thank him.

Like this, the awkward atmosphere continued as the elderly butler saw us off at the entrance.

And then, we returned to the inn.